Upheld: unsatisfactory quality of goods / failed repair complaint against Startline Motor Finance
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6399851 of 2026-06-03T00:00:00+00:00. unsatisfactory quality of goods / failed repair complaint against Startline Motor Finance. Outcome: Upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6399851 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-06-03T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Startline Motor Finance |
| Product | hire purchase agreement |
| Claim type | unsatisfactory quality of goods / failed repair |
| Outcome | Upheld |
| Remedy | End the hire purchase agreement with no further liability for Mr A; collect the car at no cost to Mr A; refund the deposit paid by Mr A's partner; refund all payments from 24 December 2025 onwards; apply simple yearly interest at Bank of England Base Rate plus 1% on refunds; remove adverse credit file entries; pay £300 compensation for distress and inconvenience (already offered by Startline). |
Summary
Mr A purchased a used car through a hire purchase agreement with Startline Motor Finance in August 2025. Within weeks, the car developed engine faults and was collected for repair in October 2025, being returned on 4 December 2025. An independent inspection on 20 December 2025 identified fault codes for the brake booster and telematics control unit, but a dealership diagnostic on 13 January 2026 claimed to find no faults. The ombudsman found the car was not of satisfactory quality when supplied and that the dealership's single chance of repair had failed, as the January diagnostic was silent on the previously identified fault codes. Mr A was therefore entitled to reject the car and receive a full refund of his deposit and payments from 24 December 2025 onwards, plus £300 compensation.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that the car was not of satisfactory quality when supplied, as evidenced by faults identified within six months. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, this creates a presumption the fault existed at supply. The dealership's single chance of repair failed because the January 2026 diagnostic was silent on the fault codes identified in the December 2025 report, failing to confirm those codes were historic. Without evidence that the repair was successful, the ombudsman concluded on the balance of probabilities that the fault codes indicated the repair had failed, entitling Mr A to reject the car.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Startline Motor Finance, all decisions | 1 | 100% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website